For a Friend
by BorntoFlyFree
Summary: When a routine mission goes very wrong, the team has to face the possibility that Iron Fist may be dead
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Spiderman or any of the characters except my OCs**

A light wind blew the scent of pine and freshly fallen snow through the mountains. It was the perfect picture of calm and starkly contrasted with the frenzied voices crying out- echoing through the trees.

"Fist! Fisty! Yo, Iron Fist!" A thin boy in a bright red and blue costume swung from tree to tree by thick strands of spider silk, calling out for his missing teammate.

"Iron Fist!" Another boy, this one glowing blue, flew above the trees. "This isn't funny! We're not playing hide-and-go-seek here! Come out!"

"Danny!" A tall dark skinned boy cried out in a scared voice. Lowering his voice to a whisper, he mumbled. "Please Danny, you had better be okay." A single tear rolled out from under his dark sunglasses.

The last one, this one a girl in a tight white suit with long claws, yelled out. Most would assume she was angry, but those who truly knew her knew that she sounded like that when she was on the verge of panicking. "Daniel Thomas Rand! If you don't show yourself in ten seconds, I'm going to kill you myself!"

Suddenly, the first boy's voice rang out in a tone verging on tears. "Power Man, Nova, White Tiger, you had better get over here… Like, right now."

"What is it Spider-Man?" Power Man raced over.

"This had better be good Web-Head." White Tiger growled.

"No Tiger, this isn't good. Not good at all." Spider-Man turned around and gulped. In his hand he held the remainder of a yellow bandana, the one Iron Fist always wore to cover his face. It was ripped to shreds and covered in thick dried blood.

"Oh no." Nova whispered. He pulled his helmet off and the blue light surrounding him cut out. Bowing his head sadly, he was unashamed as he felt tears streaking down his cheek. "How are we going to tell Fury?"

Taking the bandana gently out of Spider-Man's hands, White Tiger hugged it to her chest. "This was only a routine mission, this shouldn't have happened. I can't believe it. Danny's… Danny's…" She cut off, unable to continue without bursting into sobs.

Power Man lay a hand on her shoulder. "Danny's dead?"


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Yeah, Yeah, we al know that I don't own spiderman or anything ;)

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**3 Days Earlier**

"What's up Fury." Spider-Man strode into the debriefing room, shoulders thrown back. He was walking with his usual cocky swagger.

"Spider-Man," Fury glowered. "You're late."

"Sorry Fury, got distracted."

With a slight frown, a boy with long blond hair and a skin tight green suit with a dragon on the front glanced up at Spider-Man. "Arriving late is a way of saying your own time is more valuable than that of the one waiting for you."

"Thanks for the fortune cookie Iron Fist… Minus the cookie."

Nova laughed and White Tiger rolled her eyes under her mask, "He has a point though Web-Head. What were you doing anyhow?"

"Well if you must know, homework."

"Homework?" Nova sneered. "Since when do _you_ do homework?"

"Since… Always."

"Alright, alright, enough you two." Fury, one eyed director of shield interrupted their spat with a tone of finality. "I called you here to inform you, Scorpion got away."

Iron Fist's eyes flashed and Power Man stood, "All right, let's go take him down?"

"No."

"What!?" Five outraged voices protested.

Before their protests got out of hand, Director Fury raised his hand to quiet them. "I know you are all itching to punch something, but we don't know where he is yet. I just thought you all should know now."

The others all suddenly got very interested in the wall, none wanted to look at Iron Fist. They all knew why Fury was telling them. Scorpion had been raised with Iron Fist. They were pretty much brothers, and Scorpion had tried to kill him to take the throne. For Iron Fist was supposed to be the next ruler of the mythical city of Kun 'Lun and Scorpion had been jealous.

"Peter, Ava, Luke, Sam, Danny," Fury looked at each of them in turn. "You had better get going. Colson won't be happy if you are late to school… Again."

"Yes Sir!" They all jumped up, glad for the distraction.

Ten minutes later, they were all walking together down the road towards Midtown High. Glancing back, Peter noticed Danny lagging behind the others and slowed down to wait for him. Throwing one arm around the blond boy's shoulders, Peter ginned. "Hey Danny, you doing alright?"

Pushing his arm off, Danny shrugged. "Fine."

"Don't give me that! I think I know you well enough to know that something's wrong. Is it about Scorpion?"

"Scorpion? Why should it be?" Walking faster, Danny left Peter behind, but his mind was spinning. _Of course it is about Scorpion. He almost killed me, and he is filled with so much hatred, he will do anything for revenge. I'm afraid, afraid that he will come after my friends… My family… To get back at me._


	3. Chapter 2

Ava glanced across the lunchroom at Danny, he had been staying away from the rest of them all day. "Do you guys know what's wrong with him?" She gestured over her shoulder at the mopey blond.

Mary Jane (the only other girl who sat with them) shrugged, "He's usually quiet, but today he's being just odd. Did something happen?"

Luke sighed. "Just leave him alone, this is going to be a bad day."

"Why?" Peter scoffed. "Just because Scor-" He cut off and glanced at Mary Jane and Harry, neither of them knew that the five of them were really super heroes. "Just because… What happened this morning? That didn't seem like enough to put him in this mood."

MJ and Harry exchanged confused looks as Luke spoke up again. "No, it's not just that. Did you notice he was a lot harsher with you than usual this morning?"

"Yeah, usually his fortune cookie comments are not so… straightforward."

Looking off into the distance, Luke sighed. "It was today, eleven years ago, that Danny's parents were killed. He didn't need any more bad news today."

Harry shook his head sympathetically. "That sucks. His parents died when he was seven, right? Everyone thought he was dead too, then he just magically reappeared a year ago. Did he ever tell anyone where he was all those years?"

The five superheroes exchanged looks. Of course all of them knew where he had been, but they couldn't very well tell Harry and MJ that Danny had been training to become king of a mythical city in the middle of the Himalayas.

"I doubt," Peter began carefully, "That anyone really knows what happened. And Danny doesn't talk about it much."

"Peter, Sam, Ava, Luke. Come with me please."

The four teens jumped up to see Principle Colson (A.K.A, Agent Colson of S.H.I.E.L.D.) standing there with a serious look on his face. Danny was now standing by the door, waiting for them.

Nodding, the others made it toward the door, not paying attention to the excuse Colson mumbled to MJ and Harry. If they were all being called out, it meant something big was happening. And they had a good guess as to what it was.

As soon as the five superheroes landed back in the helicarrier, they were met by a very upset image of Director Fury on a big screen above them.  
"What is this Fury?" Spider-Man asked in confusion.

"Training, what else web head? I am sending you all on a mission tomorrow and you need to be ready."

"For Scorpion? We can take him down like that." White Tiger snapped her fingers.

"Not just Scorpion." Fury muttered before the image clicked out. The team didn't have time to question the statement, for seconds later, they were attacked by a couple dozen killer robots.

Three hours later, the heroes all collapsed in the lounge with a groan. All of the team except Spider Man lived in the helicarrier, so they had their own wing with bedrooms, a kitchen, and a lounge area.

"Fury told me we are going to Steepridge Alaska." Ava yawned, looking at her mission packet ( she was the only one who read them). "Does anyone know where that is?"

"Nope. And does anyone know what Fury meant by 'not just Scorpion'?" Luke lifted his face from where he had planted it in the couch.

"One way to find out." Nova had a glint in his eye that promised trouble.  
The team looked at each other worriedly. "This isn't going to turn out like when you tried to capture Doom and his robot almost blew up the reactor, is it?" Spider Man frowned.

"For the record, that was YOUR fault web brains. And no, this is just for information.". Nova grinned evilly as he hacked the S.H.I.E.L.D. database. "Here it is!" He exclaimed. "Wow…"

"What! What is it?" The others crowded around him. A couple thousand things had popped up on the screen along with the name, Angel.

"Look at that!" White Tiger whispered and read some of the random newspaper headings aloud. "Angel saves life of child with Leukemia. Winged hero saves lives no one else can. The angel of Steepridge spotted outside children's hospital.". There was only one picture of her among all of the other stuff. It was very blurry but you could clearly see long white bird wings stretching out from between her shoulders.

"If she's that good, I wonder why Fury hasn't recruited her yet?" Danny mused.

"Because we can't find her." The sound of Fury's voice behind them started the five heroes and they turned around guiltily.

"Why is it that every time I change the password, you figure it out?" Fury glared at Nova.

"Because you are way too obvious!" Nova scoffed. "Master of the epic eyepatch? Ser-"

Nova shut up when White Tiger elbowed him, hard. "What do you mean 'you can't find her'?"

"Exactly what I said."

"But you're the super spies!" Spider-Man cried out, aghast.

"Yes, and she's the slipperiest person on the planet. Easy to say, it really annoys me that we can't even get a decent picture of her! And for some reason, the satellites can't see that city. So I may be a little obsessed with figuring out the mystery of Steepridge." At the hero's skeptical glances, he growled, "This isn't my first rodeo kids! And when you all go there tomorrow, after taking Scorpion down, you are going to find her. It's likely that she will turn up to watch the fight. Now get some rest. It'll be a big day tomorrow!"


	4. Chapter 3

**Sorry it took so long to update! I was in Russia for the past month and had no access to the internet! :) Oh; and just to fix any confusion; Steepridge is just the name of the city they are going to. I just made up a name. :)**

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As soon as Fury left, Iron Fist looked up at the team. "I have a feeling that Fury hates not knowing anything. Obsession in finding something that does not wish to be found could result in dire consequences."

"Not now Fist." Luke rolled his eyes.

"Yeah Danny, I mean what harm could come from catching him and figuring out who he is?"

Raising on eyebrow at Nova, Danny asked. "Isn't your Master a raccoon? Don't you know what happens when you corner a wild animal?"

"He's not a raccoon." Nova muttered, but he did understand.

"What's the big deal?" Spiderman yawned. "He's not causing any harm, so why do we have to catch him?"

"Why do you boys just assume that the angel is a guy?" Ava glowered at them, hands on her hips. "I mean, he could be a she."

"A girl couldn't stay hidden like that! Everyone knows girls are terrible with staying under the radar." Nova scoffed and was instantly hit upside the head by Ava.

Before she could do any more damage to Nova, Danny lay a gentle hand on her shoulder. Turning to Nova, he rolled his eyes. "There are many parts between your mind and your mouth, you should consider using them Nova, and I know I've told you that before." Turning back to Tiger, he smiled at her reassuringly. "We assume that the angel is a guy because in the bible they never mention any female angels. All the ones mentioned are men; such as the angels Gabriel and Michael. But we don't know for sure."

"Thanks Danny." Ava smiled, Danny had always been able to calm her down. "Alright boys, Fury's right, hit the sack. We leave at dawn."

Nodding, they all went to their respective rooms and Peter went home to his Aunt May. Danny lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Thoughts running rampant through his mind. _I don't know why, but I do not want to go after Scorpion. How did he even get all the way to Alaska so quickly? I have a very bad feeling about this, and my feelings are rarely wrong._ After what seemed like hours, Danny was able to calm his mind and drift into an uneasy sleep.

_Shou Lou, the undying. A great twisting serpent with scars across his chest where his heart had been ripped out, the dragon Danny had defeated to gain the Iron Fist. "I am the symbol of your power, I am the undying one." The dragon hissed. "I am immortal, but you are not. Do not go on your mission. For five will fight, but four will return."_

Sitting upright, Danny hugged his arms around himself, panting. "It was only a dream." He whispered, "Only a dream."

Unable to go back to sleep after his nightmare, Danny slipped quietly out of his room and into their kitchen. Opening the fridge, he began rifling around, looking for the soy milk.

"Whatcha doing?" The groggy voice startling him, Danny jumped and dropped the bottle of soy milk on the ground.

"Ava, what are you doing up?"

"Couldn't sleep, too excited. You?"

Danny quickly debated with himself what he should tell her, finally settling on the truth. "Nightmares." He sighed.

Smiling at him sadly, Ava walked around the counter and hugged him. "Thanks for telling me the truth. You don't tell us personal things very often, it means a lot that you would trust me enough to tell me." She ran her hand along the giant scar shaped like a dragon which curled across his chest. He had gotten the scar when fighting the dragon Shou Lou for the power of the iron fist.

"Whatever you dreamt about, it wasn't real. Don't worry, everything will be fine. The five of us together can defeat anything."


	5. Chapter 4

"Alright team, here's the plan…" Danny stopped listening as Spider Man blathered on. He wasn't in the mood to pay attention. His dream from the night before was still haunting him. _"Five will fight but only four will return.."_

"Fist?" Spider-Man's irritated voice jolted Danny to attention.

"Huh? What?"

"Did you hear anything I just said?"

"Um… No."

Rolling his eyes, Spider Man started explaining the plan again. "We are going to go into the town without costumes and talk to people, trying to find any information on Scorpion or the angel." Spiderman spoke super slowly, as if speaking to an idiot.

"Cut it out spider. I'm tired, not stupid." Iron Fist frowned.

"Alright, sorry. Just making sure you are paying attention. Once we find either, the plan is simple: attack and capture. Any question?"

"Um yeah," Nova inspected his gloved hand. "Who wants to demote the spider and make me leader?" When everyone glared at him, Nova shrugged with a sly yet somewhat bashful expression. "Alright, got it. Just asking."

"I still don't get why we have to capture both of them?" White Tiger frowned. "It's not like the angel is doing any harm. Why do we need to capture him?"

Spider Man shrugged. "Fury needs information on the angel. Such as how he had managed to stay untracked for so long. And how he knew the cures for diseases most doctors consider incurable. Fury's other excuse is that technically the angel has been breaking the law by breaking and entering into hospitals without permission, even though he has been saving lives. I know, I don't really get it either. Being unable to find out anything on the angel is driving Fury a little crazy. I guess that would be the worst thing for any super-spy: being unable to figure out the information you want."

The five heroes made it to Steepridge Alaska by noon the next day. Looking out of the window at the small city, Luke frowned. "Why would Scorpion come here? It's the middle of nowhere!"

"Maybe that's why the angel lives here. I wouldn't think to look for someone in a dingy place like this. And he acts as if he doesn't want to be found." Ava too looked out of the window.

"Do you think that he might be why Scorpion came here? I mean, there probably isn't much else of interest in this place." Peter frowned.

"I hope they are not working together. That would make our job much more complicated." Danny gazed off into the distance, a worried expression on his face.

They hid the jet in a copse of trees outside the city at the top of a small hill. The city was smallish and encircled by five mountains, so it was pretty much protected from all sides. Sliding out of the Helicarrier jet in civilian clothes, without his helmet, Sam shivered. "It's FREEZING! Why does Alaska have to be, like, negative forty degrees?"

"Sam, it's January. New York isn't exactly warm this time of year either." Ava rolled her eyes at the wining bucket-head.

"Yeah but at least there we can hide inside with bug fuzzy blankets and buckets of cocoa." Peter started drooling as an image filled his head of cakes and pies and hot chocolate.

"Cocoa?" Sam's mocking laugh broke Peter out of his daydream. "What are you? Five?"

"What's wrong with cocoa?"

"Will you two stop arguing and start walking?" Luke huddled deeper into his coat. "The sooner we get into the city, the sooner we can find a café or something and get warm."

"I'm for that! Let's go!" Peter grinned and raced down the hill.

"Last one there buys!" Sam jumped up and ran after Peter, both boys slipping and laughing in the snow. The other's followed, but no one noticed Danny glancing nervously behind his shoulder the whole way down, as if sensing something watching them.


	6. Chapter 5

**Ok; I had a lot of errors in this chapter (I wrote while I was still seriously jetlagged, 12 hr time difference from my part of Russia to America) so I fixed it and this is the re-upload! :)**

**Note to: Onyxdragon- Ava was referring to the town being janky, not Alaska itself. I'm from up north too, so I know how beautiful it is :) I would never refer to it in a negative way! But some cities are run down and rather dingy. That is what she was referring to :)**

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A small bell tinkled as the five teenagers walked into a small café at the edge of the city. "Man it's cold out there!" Luke shivered.

"I like it." Danny smiled at his friend. "The cold makes your mind sharper and more focused."

"Dude, you were raised in that type of weather so maybe it focuses you. But I think my brain got frostbite!"

"I don't think you did Luke, but bucket head and web head over there definitely did." Ava pointed to where the two boys were having a contest to see who could make the stupidest face in a mirror on the wall.

"Hi 'ya," A young woman in a waitress's uniform walked up to them. "My name's Mariah, follow me, we have a seat open over here."

Sam's mouth fell open as he looked at the pretty waitress and Peter snorted, "Dude, you're going to catch flies with your mouth hanging open like that."

"Shut up." Sam closed his mouth and ran after the waitress, followed by the other four.

"I haven't seen any of you in these parts before." Mariah smiled, making Sam turn bright red. "What are ya'll doing in Steepridge?"

"Exploring." Peter lied. "We are sort of like adventure seekers. We heard two legends about Steepridge. One about a man/scorpion, and one about an angel who no one has ever seen close up and knows how to cure any disease."

"Well I've never heard of a scorpion man. But Angel is around these parts."

"Angel? It's his name?"

"_Her_ name, yes."

Ava crossed her arms and glared at the others in triumph. "Told you she was a girl."

"What do you know about her?" Danny asked quietly.

"Well, they say she lives on one of the mountains. But you won't ever be able to find her, if she wants to be found, she'll find you. But why do you want to find her?"

The four heroes exchanged glances, unsure what to say. "Just curiosity." Ava answered finally.

"Uh huh, well here are your menus, I'll be back in a couple minutes." Mariah scurried away and the teenagers began discussing how to find Scorpion. No one noticed as the waitress ducked out of the back door of the restaurant.

A young woman in a long overcoat with her hair stuffed inside a hat was leaning against the wall of the alley. "What news Mariah?" She asked in a musical voice.

"There are five people looking for you, they wouldn't tell me why. But I don't think it's for the usual reasons people try to find you. I have a bad feeling about this situation, I suggest you lay low for a while."

"Thanks. But I was following them this morning. I know why they want me. You're right, it's not good. Someone has been trying to find me for ages, he is almost obsessed with it. And the fact that I can block satellite imagery of my home drives him crazy. Those five work for him, they won't be any trouble to avoid though. Any other info you got from them?"

"Yes, they are looking for some sort of scorpion\man. I'm not exactly sure what they meant."

"Hm, that is very… Enlightening. I've known something was amiss for three days. Now I know what." The woman shrugged off her overcoat revealing long, arching bird wings.

"What? Angel! You gotta tell me what's going on!"

"It will be better if you do not know everything my friend. Just know that there is an intruder in our sanctuary. Steepridge is no longer as safe as it was." Without another word, she spread her wings to their full twenty feet and flapped sown powerfully, raising a storm of snow around them as she shot straight up out of the alley and into the sky.

Meanwhile, in the café, Danny leapt up. "Something is wrong."

"What is it Danny?" The other four were instantly alert. Everyone had learned a long time ago to trust the fortune cookie's instincts.

"Some kind of magic… I can sense it, but…" Suddenly he cut off, bolting towards the door. Startled, the others ran after him. The second they made it outside, a scream echoed through the sky. Looking up, they saw that the sky had been turned pitch black by boiling storm clouds and lightning was arching through the sky.

"Look! There's Scorpion!" Sam yelled and pointed towards the sky."

"Wait, does he have a _jetpack_?" Peter asked, his tone laced with jealousy.

"Stop talking, we have a job to do." Ava growled. She, Luke, and Danny were already in costume. Exchanging glances, Sam and Peter raced into an alley way to change.

"Look!" Power Man gasped and pointed to Scorpion. As a streak of lightning lit the sky, they could all see that he had his fist wrapped around a girl's neck. They could barely see what she looked like, but they could see long white bird wings stretched from her shoulders.

"Let her go!" Nova yelled as the wind picked up, pummeling the five heroes. Stretching out his arm, Nova released a bolt of energy at Scorpion. It hit him in the chest and he dropped the bird girl, who immediately flapped her wings hard, racing away.

"Great, now we lost her!" Spiderman yelled as Scorpion turned towards them, hatred in his eyes.

"You!" He screamed and shot towards the five heroes. Landing gracefully, Scorpion lashed out at them.

Snow flew up around them as they all fought to subdue Scorpion. "Hey! Hold still!" Nova yelled and shot a blast at Scorpion. When he leapt out of the way, Nova's blast hit White Tiger square in the chest, sending her crashing into a wall.

"Tiger!" He yelped and flew towards her, only to be knocked into the same wall by Scorpion's tail, his helmet flying off of his head.

"Three down, two to go." Scorpion laughed as he sent Power Man crashing into a car across the street. "As you can see, I have some serious upgrades." He held his arms wide, showing off the heavy green armor covered in rocket launchers and guns of all sizes. "You pathetic heroes will never be able to defeat me."

"Man," Nova coughed and tried to focus on the fight, which was proving extremely difficult since he had been knocked cross-eyed. "When did Scorpion become good?"

"Spidey," Tiger held onto her dislocated shoulder, shaking in pain. "I don't think we can stop him."

"We can still take him!" Spider Man stood bravely. "Right Iron Fist?"

"No." Iron Fist stuck his arm out to block the Spider's advance. "It's me he wants."

"But…"

Ignoring Spider Man, he stood up straighter. "Brother! Stop this! You were never meant for evil."

With a maniacal laugh, Scorpion grabbed Iron Fist around the neck and shot up, sixty stories into the air. Lightning crackled around them as Iron Fist grabbed hold of Scorpion's wrists, terrified of falling out of the sky. "Oh Danny," Scorpion laughed. "You are so naïve. I was meant to rule the world. You are nothing to me, I will become great, and you, you will die for what you did to me."

Choking, Iron Fist gasped, "Stop this… Scorpion!"

With one last laugh, Scorpion whispered, "Good bye, brother." Smiling the way mad-men do, he let go, watching Danny's terrified face fall through the dark sky. "Consider us even brother." Scorpion grinned as Danny dropped through the clouds. "You got me banished from Kun 'Lun, I got you banished from existence."


	7. Chapter 6

**Sorry it took so long to update guys! I've been really busy the last week :) Well, here you go! :)**

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Trees waved their snow-laden branches in the freezing breeze as a fox slunk through the underbrush, its white tail bobbing cheerfully. Broken branches littered the clearing and blood patched the snow from where a young boy had fallen from the sky. His mask had fallen off in the fall, revealing that his face and neck were swollen and bruised black and purple. The bone of his left leg was splintered and the jagged edges had pierced through the skin.

Snow crunched as three pairs of feet walked towards the boy. One pair barely sunk through the white powder, her weight was so slight. The other two pairs belonged to a sleek white wolf.

"You should have caught him, Angel." The wolf growled.

"I wouldn't have been able to reach him in time Wolf. He was too far away."

"What is that evil man doing in our sanctuary?"

"You know the answer to that, so I know not why you ask."

"But you can not give him what he wants."

"He does not know that, and he wouldn't believe me if I told him so." Angel sighed as she pulled off her mitten and leaned down to place her hand to the boy's temple.

"If he alive?" Wolf wagged his tail back and forth in agitation.

Angel did not answer for a second as she concentrated. Nodding abruptly, she responded. "Barely. It's a miracle that fall didn't break his neck." Brushing his bloody hair out of his face, she shook her head as she imagined all the work it would take to keep him alive.

"Who is he?"

"One of the kids with superpowers who works with that spy agency… Ah, I know the name, I just can't remember."

"S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"Oh yeah! That's right. Anyhow, I heard the others say his name was Danny.

Placing on arm behind his back and the other under his knees, Angel gently lifted the boy, being careful not to injure him further. Cradling his broken body against her chest, she slowly stretched her wings towards the heavens. "Come on Wolf, he has lost a lot of blood. We need to get him back to the tree."

"Should I tell the children to hide? We don't want strangers finding them. They are afraid of people, especially of men."

"He is barely more than a boy." Angel smiled protectively at the teenager she held onto. "But you are right, if the children are afraid, tell them to go to the caves. However, ask Daniel and Xiwang if they wish to stay. I may need their help. I don't know if I can save this one Wolf."

Her eyes flashed with worry as she spread her mighty wings further and Wolf took off into the underbrush. Snow swirled up like a storm as she beat them down once. The powerful stroke shot her into the air like a bullet from a gun.

Within minutes, she landed on the porch of a large, one-roomed tree house. Slipping through the doorway, she smiled wanly at the sight which greeted her.

The walls of the tree house were filled with shelves on three walls. The last wall had a fireplace built into it and sleeping bags lined up along the side. Two children stood in the middle of the room covered in mud, leaves, and ice. Seeing her shocked expression, the boy gulped and pointed at the girl. "She started it!"

"No he started it!" The girl growled back, hands on her hips.

Sighing, Angel shook her head. "You two are supposed to be the responsible ones. I left you two in charge and you end up fighting with each other? What sort of example is that for the others? I'm rather disappointed." Latching the boy in her gaze, she continued, "Daniel, build the fire back up it's freezing in here. And you are both going to catch hypothermia in those wet clothes. Where did you find mud this time of year?"

"The waterfall never freezes Momma." The girl flashed a smile filled with mischief.

"Oh no!" Angel gasped. "Xiwang, I told you not to go near that waterfall! You could have fallen in. And I wasn't here to catch you if you fell."

Hunching her shoulders, the girl nodded. "I'm sorry Momma."

"We are going to talk about this. But you both need to get changed. Now. Get some different clothes on, dry off, clean up that floor, then we will talk. Did Wolf already get the others to the caves?"

"Yes Momma." Daniel looked subdued from her disappointed tone. "Come on Xiwang, let's find something dry." Glancing at the boy in Angel's arms, he frowned, "Who's that? And what happened? Looks like he went five rounds with a grizzly bear."

"Go, you little hooligan!" Angel laughed tightly. "We will talk about this when you are dry. I have enough work to do without caring for two kids with hypothermia."

Rolling her eyes, Angel set the boy down on a mat next to the fireplace as the children scurried away. Pulling her hair out of her hat, Angel tugged on it thoughtfully. "This is going to be a long night." She muttered as she scanned the jars of strangely colored liquids which filled the shelves.

"Try the yampah and prairie clover root." Daniel's quiet voice startled her.

Turning around to smile at the thirteen year old, Angel nodded. "Good idea, thanks Daniel." Suddenly, her expression turned worried when she noticed how tight and pale her child's face was and how he kept one hand clenched on his upper arm. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Old injury is hurting me. Let's help him first." Daniel motioned towards where Danny lay. "Come on Momma, I'll bind the bone of his leg back into place, you get the herbs."

"And I will gather provisions for the others." Xiwang came up behind them. "Wolf will be here to pick up supplies soon."

Nodding to each other, they split up. Working together like they had so many times before.

"Is he going to survive Momma?" Daniel asked, staring at Danny's pale face and blood-soaked body.

"He should already be dead, I have never heard of someone surviving a fall like that." Realizing too late that that was the wrong thing to say, Angel tried to cover-up the statement when she saw her child's scared eyes. "But don't worry, we will do everything we can."


	8. Chapter 7

"Get off me." White Tiger tried to swat away a SHIELD paramedic who was trying to bind her shoulder.

"Your shoulder was dislocated. We need to wrap it and you need to take it easy!"

Growling low in her throat, she slammed her good fist into a wall. "I don't need to take it easy! I need to get out there and find Danny. He's out there somewhere!" She screamed and pointed towards the mountains which surrounded the city.

"Tiger," Nick Fury's voice spun her around. He shook his head at her. "Spiderman and Power man are okay, but your shoulder is still injured and Nova has a pretty bad concussion. You all need rest. Shield is out there searching for Danny, they'll find him."

"He's one of us." Nova's voice made Fury jump.

"Nova! You should be resting."

"I'm fine Fury." Nova was still in costume and was holding his helmet under his arm. "Danny's one of our own. We need to be out there looking for him."

"Sam's right." Spiderman and Luke walked up to join the group and Spiderman continued, "Fury, we need to do this. Don't try to stop us."

Inspecting what was left of the team carefully, Fury nodded. "Alright, since I know if I give you a direct order to not go, you will just ignore me, I will let you all go."

"Where haven't they checked yet?" Luke blubbered, tears running down his cheeks from under his tinted glasses.

"We are scouring all the mountains. Except that one." Furry pointed to one of the five mountains, this one had a large storm swirling around its peak that never seemed to disperse. "That is the mountain the city is named for, Mount Steepridge. The natives say it is the heart of this area and won't go up there. I have my suspicions about that place, but it's dangerous. People who go up there return confused, often with amnesia, and usually their clothes and hair will be singed or burnt off."

"We'll go." Spiderman crossed his arms.

"Are you sure?"

This time Luke answered, scrubbing tears out of his eyes. "If Danny's up there, he is in no shape to fight off whatever demon haunts that mountain. Yes, we will go."

Nova dropped his helmet over his head and shot off towards the mountain, quickly followed by the rest of the team. None heard Fury mutter. "I doubt it's a demon."

Snow fell like bird down around them as the team split up, scouring the area. Pine trees waved their boughs in the gentle wind while a birch tree creaked ominously and a fox stared out from under a bush. If one were to look closely enough, they might realize that there WAS no wind. That the fox was far too large to be natural. And that eyes were peering out from a hole in the birch tree.

Running (or in Nova's case: flying) through the deceptively peaceful forest, the team searched for their friend who was nowhere to be found. As soon as they began calling his name, a bird's high-pitched warble rang from a tree and the call was picked up and carried through the forest, echoing through trees and under rocks. Over the tumbling waterfall and down into the mountain's valleys.

Padding carefully, a white wolf sat on his haunches and waited until the skinny boy in the blue and red costume noticed him.

"Wolf," Spiderman squeaked, staring into the animal's curious blue eyes. Standing up quietly, the wolf waved his plumed tail back and forth carelessly and walked a couple paces in one direction before glancing over his shoulder at the boy.

"Are you trying to show me something?" Spiderman asked, perplexed.

Turning back around, the wolf headed off with Spiderman following. Some may find it foolish that he would follow a wild animal for no apparent reason, but so many weird things had happened in the past couple years that Spiderman no longer found anything too strange to be possible. He had met a wizard named Doctor Strange. Nothing was impossible in his mind anymore.

A couple minutes later, the wolf sat down and howled once before racing off in the other direction. Hopping up into a tree, Spiderman stared down with horror at the object the wolf had led him too. Gulping, Spiderman choked down tears and yelled as loud as he could. "Power Man, Nova, White Tiger, you had better get over here… Like, right now."


	9. Chapter 8

**Okay, so I know I said I wasn't going to upload anymore until I finish publishing my book. Well, technology hates me. My flash drive went hay-wire and until I can get a new one- I can't do anything with my book! I am highly irritated, lol. Oh well. I had a lot of time to write this today since I'm stuck for the moment, haha.**

**Okay, I know it's confusing that one of my OCs is named Daniel (now this story has 2 Daniels, haha) but I had created this OC a long time ago and really wanted to put him in here. He goes in almost all my stories. You will understand why in a couple chapters, in one of the next couple chapters I will also explain why I'm not willing to just change his name. Alright, enjoy! :)**

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Danny slowly blinked his eyes open. Everything seemed fuzzy to him. _What happened?_ He thought to himself. _Where am I?_ A small yelp escaped his lips as he tried to sit up.

"Careful." A gently hand pushed him back down. "You almost died."

Looking up, his vision still slightly fuzzy, Danny focused on the girl before him. She was very small with golden hair which cascaded over her shoulder like a waterfall and flawless white swan wings stretched from her back. "You are the one we were searching for?"

"Yes. My name is Angel. You should have never come to Steepridge, it is dangerous to try and corner a wild animal."

"She means: you shouldn't have tried to catch her." Another voice spoke up. Glancing over, Danny studied the small boy who had spoken. He was almost abnormally thin with white-blond hair falling into his eyes. And his legs were missing from the knees down. He walked over to them on the stubs of his legs and plopped down beside Angel. Behind him stood a small Asian girl with cloudy eyes and long scars carved down her face as if someone had clawed her eyes.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Xiwang." The girl crossed her arms. "In Chinese, it means Hope. This is my little brother Daniel."

"Xiwang, we are the same age." The small boy cocked an eyebrow at her,

"Yeah but you are a LOT smaller than me." Xiwang laughed and Daniel glared at her.

"What happened?" Danny rubbed his head, trying to remember.

"You fell. Don't you remember?"

"No. It's all kind of fuzzy."

"Well you and your friends were fighting some sort of weirdo in a scorpion costume, he went after you and you fell thirty stories. You should be dead."

"So, did you save me?"

"We did," Angel's gesture accompanied herself, Daniel, and Xiwang.

"Why? I mean, we were hunting you. Why would you take that chance?"

"I will help anyone who needs my help. You were already to the point where no doctor on earth could have saved you- what was I supposed to do?"

A slight smile twisted Danny's bruised face. "Thank you. Now can you tell me, why does Fury want you so badly? He wouldn't tell us. But then again- he rarely tells us anything except what we 'need' to know."

Concentration furrowed Angel's brow as she sat cross-legged next to Danny and shook her head. "When a mission is personal, it becomes an obsession. I really don't want to go into my connection with Fury. Let's just say- people who live in a treehouse in the middle of Alaska probably don't want to be found."

Looking into the fire, Daniel spoke quietly. "Plus, now she can't leave. Even if she wanted to."

"Daniel!" Angel chastised the boy. When both Danny and Daniel looked up, they glanced at each other and broke into great rolls of laughter.

"This is going to get complicated." Danny chuckled.

"And amusing." Daniel added.

"Boys are stupid." Xiwang's observation made everyone laugh again.

Everyone fell instantly quiet when a loud scratching was heard by the door. When the children looked at Angel, worry in their eyes, she shook her head. "Don't worry, it's only Wolf." She stood to open the door.

"Why is Wolf back already?" Xiwang whispered to her brother who shrugged in response.

"Wolf," Angel held the door wide so the animal could come in, shaking snow from his thick white coat. "What's wrong? Why did you leave the…" She glanced back at Danny who was obviously listening in. Of course that is understandable, it's not every day you see a talking wolf. "The things you were supposed to be watching."

"Why didn't you come when the intruders came up the mountain?" He asked with a small growl.

Raising her eyebrow, Angel responded. "I could leave him." She gestured towards Danny. "But you handled it just fine, what's the problem?"

"Can I talk to you. Outside." It wasn't a question and he twirled around, tail twitching as he stalked out the door. Grabbing a coat of white buckskin, Angel walked out with him.

"What's wrong Wolf?" She blew on her freezing hands.

"It was _his_ team on the mountain."

"Alright, I don't see the problem."

"They were going to tear this place apart looking for him so I led them to the place we found him. They think he's dead."

"I still don't see… Ohhhhh-" comprehension dawned in her eyes as well as worry. "Okay, we're in trouble."

"Fury is going to blame you. He is going to tear this place apart. And then we are all goners."

"I feel like I know what you want me to do. But I don't like it one bit."

"You got to Angel, we don't have a choice. You must use power."

"You want me to create a snow storm of hurricane levels. What if someone gets caught in it? They will die! How can I take that chance?!"

Raising his voice until he was screaming, Wolf bellowed, "AND IF YOU DON"T, THEY WILL DIE!" Calming down, he saw the tears in her eyes and sighed. Pushing his wet nose into her side Wolf whined. "I'm sorry. I'm a talking Wolf, I don't want to become a lab rat. With humans running tests on me to see how I work. I don't want our family split up. I don't want you to end up in prison. And that's what's going to happen. Please Angel, we don't have a choice."

Tears freezing on her cheeks, she opened the door and called, "Daniel, Xiwang, come here for a second."

Hearing her unusually serious tone, they fell instantly silent and got up, coming towards her. "Yes Momma?" Daniel asked as soon as they joined her and Wolf on the porch.

"We are in danger. I must call on my connection with the mountain. You two are in charge until I wake up. Don't fight, I'm begging you. You must act like an adult. This is survival. Take care of Danny while I'm out, he's still in the danger-zone. Daniel, you know what to do?" When the child nodded confirmation, she continued. "I'm counting on both of you to take care of our family. Wolf, stay with the others. Don't leave them! They need you. Xiwang keep practicing with Daniel, remember you ears can tell you just about anything and intimidation is your greatest weapon. Look people straight in the eye, it freaks them out. You are getting pretty good and knowing where to turn, but you aren't perfect yet. Daniel, I need you and Wolf to go into the city and warn Mariah, she'll get the word out. Can you two behave for a couple days and take care of each other without hurting each other?"

"Don't worry Momma, we got this. We will be good. We promise." Daniel placed his hand on her arm comfortingly."

Sighing, she nodded. "Alright, okay. Well then, see you in a couple days. I hope." The three humans went back into the tree house and Wolf spun around, leaping off the porch and galloping into the trees.

Once inside, Danny cast them strange looks. "Everything okay?" He asked.

"Yes, it's fine." Angel walked over to him. Bending over, she placed her hand on his shoulder. My children will be taking care of you for the next couple days, I will be… occupied."

Walking over to the corner of the tree house, she sat cross-legged and folded her hands neatly in her lap. Closing her eyes, she began to glow softly before slumping over.

Sighing, Daniel threw a blanket over her and hugged her gently. "I love you Momma." He whispered.

Utterly confused, Danny looked at the children for an explanation. "What just happened?!"

Turning around, Xiwang looked Danny straight in the eyes. He wiggled nervously under her blind gaze. "It's our last line of defense." She crossed her arms. "You know that storm that swirls around the mountain peak? The small one that never leaves? Well it's about to get a whole lot bigger."


	10. Chapter 9

Peter, Ava, Sam, and Luke sat around a small table at the Blue Moose Café. They had come here to think. They couldn't face Fury yet: and tell them that they had failed. The same waitress as earlier came up to them. Sam remembered that her name was Mariah.

"Hey guys," She smiled as she set cups of cocoa down before them. "I see that you're back. That attack earlier was terrible, was that who you were looking for?"

"Yeah." Ava whispered. None of the team was crying, they were all just numb.

"Weren't there five of you? Where's the blond one?"

They all turned blank-eyed stares on her and her face fell. She knew that look. "Oh… Oh, I'm so sorry. Did you find him yet?"

"Only this." Once again, it was Ava who answered, pulling out Danny's bandanna.

"But if you didn't find him, that means he could still be alive, right? Where did you find it?" Mariah was trying desperately to give them hope.

"There's no way." Peter answered numbly. "We were searching Mount Steepridge, all we found was that bandanna and a LOT of blood."

Perking up, Mariah smiled. "Listen guys, there's still hope. If you didn't find him, that means the angel may have. She roams the mountains all the time. Whenever people need her, they climb Mount Steepridge."

"You really think he could still be out there?" Luke looked up, grasping onto any hope he could find that his best friend might still be alive.

Before Mariah could answer, the door of the Café blew open and a small child clinging to the back of a humongous white wolf padded in. The child's face looked to be maybe twelve or thirteen and he was wrapped in layers of furs.

"Daniel!" Mariah gasped and ran over to him, lifting him off of the wolf's back, she set him on a stool and Wolf curled up at his feet. Motioning at the café's owner/chef who had walked out of the kitchen to see what the commotion was about, Mariah commanded, "Dad, he's freezing. Bring some cocoa quick."

Pulling off his hat, Daniel rubbed snow out of his hair and shook his head. Moving the stubs of his legs back and forth anxiously, he spoke loudly so all could hear. "No time! There's a huge storm coming! Everyone needs to get home now! If you get stuck in this blizzard, you are going to die in it. None of you have ever seen a storm of this size before!"

"How big is it?" Peter walked up to the child, thinking he was being melodramatic.

Hearing the patronizing tone in Peter's voice, a grizzled old man stood up, hand clenched around a walking stick. "Don't act like that kid doesn't know what he's talking about. He's never been wrong about a storm. And I doubt you've ever been in Alaska during a blizzard, have you?"

"No Sir." Peter looked down bashfully and Daniel continued.

"Hurricane force winds going all four directions at once mixed with snow. We are all in trouble if we don't get home!"

Mariah's face went pale and she stuttered, somehow choking out, "She didn't!"

Shaking his head, Daniel whispered, "She did." Every person in the café except the team knew what they were talking about and all jumped up so they could get home quickly. Noise roared in the café as chairs scraped the floor and dishes clattered.

"Who did what?" At Sam's voice, the café fell silent. No one was sure how to answer the question. Finally, the grizzled man answered.

"She, you know: mother nature. Sometimes she's just cruel to us Eskimos." Everyone could tell he was lying.

Before Sam could comment, Ava pulled his arm. "Come on Bucket Head, we need to get out of here." Paying their check quickly, they hurried out.

"Director Fury! Director Fury! Come quick!" Coulson's panicking voice brought Fury running.

"What, what is it?" Fury tried to calm down the frantic agent.

Face falling slack, he pointed up the mountains. "Look."

Glancing up, Fury's jaw dropped open. "Rats. Call back the search team, now! This is a Level 4 emergency! Get to the jets, now!" The small dark storm swirling around Mount Steepridge had grown larger, now circling all the mountains and spreading outward, towards the city. Gale force winds picked up and buffeted the agents as they scrambled towards to get back into the jets.

"Fury!" Coulson yelled again, "We can't find the team anywhere! And the storm is interfering with our communicators."

"Here we are Fury!" Spiderman yelled as he and the team pushed through the winds.

"Where were you four!" Fury screamed. "You were supposed to check in every hour!"

The team didn't answer until they were in the helicarrier. Once they were in, outside of the storm, Spiderman choked out, "Sorry Fury, but we couldn't come back right away. We didn't want to tell you?"

"Tell me what?" Fury asked gruffly, but his heart fell into his stomach, dreading what they might say next.

But no one answered. Ava simply pulled Danny's bandanna out of her pocket and handed it to Fury. Her hands shook so violently that she almost dropped it. Fury gulped, looking at the tear-stained faces before him. For the first time in his life, he didn't know what to say.


	11. Chapter 10

**Sorry it took so long to update! I'm doing a last run-through on my book (finally got my flashdrive fixed!), The final stages are complicated and annoying so I needed something fun, so I wrote some of this! Enjoy! :)**

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The wind howled angrily outside the tree house where Danny, Daniel, and Xiwang lay by the fire.

"What's she doing?" Danny winced as he brushed a strand of blond hair out of his eyes,

Looking over at their young Momma, Daniel and Xiwang held hands nervously. "She's controlling the storm." Daniel answered quietly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Danny raised one eyebrow at the mysterious children.

Seeming to weigh her words carefully, as if trying to figure out how much she should say, Xiwang distractedly brushed her jagged black hair behind her back and whispered, "Momma has a connection with this area, this mountain."

"I don't understand."  
Placing a hand on Xiwang's arm to keep her from answering, Daniel frowned. "Maybe you are asking the wrong questions Danny. Careful, you are treading on thin ice."

Taking in the child's dangerous expression, Danny nodded, thinking it might be better to placate the kid. "Is there anything you can tell me? What questions should I be asking?"

Folding her arms, Xiwang looked straight into Danny's bright green eyes with her own foggy blind ones. The way she did that seriously creeped him out. "Maybe you should be asking why Fury wants to find her in the first place."

"Wait, how do you know who Fury is?"

"We know a lot more than you think. Admit it, Fury's almost obsessed with finding her, why? Doesn't it seem a little weird? Why should she be any different than the other run of the mill bad guys? Why did the scorpion dude come here to the middle of nowhere? I doubt he came for elk season. What on earth could he want here, but her. And why would he want her? What's she got that's so important?"

"Stop it!" Danny exclaimed and clapped his hands over his ears. "Don't do that to me! You aren't telling me anything! You are just giving me more questions!"

When Xiwang and Daniel exchanged a special smile, Danny frowned. "You two are evil."

"We know!" They laughed at the same time.

At that moment, the wind outside picked up, slamming against the tree house as if it was trying to push the house off of its roost. Both of the children screamed as a wind blew down the chimney, extinguishing the fire and filling the room. Clutching onto each other, Danny reached out a hand to place on Daniel's back and he flinched.

"What's happening?" Danny screamed over the wind as it picked up speed, trashing the one roomed house and filling it with its own miniature cyclone.

Across the room, Angel groaned through her trance-like state and began tossing back and forth. Struggling to stand through the wind which filled the room, Daniel hobbled towards her. The wind blew harder, grabbing loose objects off of the shelves and flinging them around.

"Momma!" Daniel screamed, "Stop it! You've got to wake up!"

But she couldn't hear him through whatever it was that held onto her consciousness.

Stumbling the last few paces forward, Daniel grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "Momma, wake up! Momma!" Across the room, Xiwang and Danny covered their heads to protect themselves from flying debris.

Gasping, Angel flung herself upright. "Danger on the mountain! Must get rid of it! Danger!" Her voice cut off and she lurched as if in a seizure. Grabbing hold of her shoulders, Daniel tried to force her to hold still. With a final gasp, Angel collapsed, completely unconscious and the wind stopped as suddenly as it had begun.

Shivering in fright, Xiwang sat up, uncovering her head, "Wha… What happened?" She looked as if she were about to cry, something Xiwang never did.

"I… I don't know." Daniel was shaking too. Hearing the stutter in his voice, Xiwang ran towards him and wrapped her arms around him. Both began to cry in both fright and worry for their momma, who now lay as still as a corpse upon the floor.

Danny's eyes widened, silently taking in everything that had just happened. The children acted so much older and more responsible than they were that sometimes it was hard to remember that they were only eleven or twelve years old. But now, as they held each other, both in tears, he remembered how alone they really were at the moment. With Angel in her unconscious state, all they had was each other. And they were afraid.


	12. Chapter 11

The wind still howled outside the tree house,but had calmed down quite a bit since the night before, Angel remained unconscious. Danny woke up slowly, blinking sleep from his eyes. turning his head slightly, he saw Daniel and Xiwang sitting close to Angel. Daniel had no shirt on and Xiwang was wrapping his shoulder tightly with some sort of gauze.

"What happened?" Daniel asked quietly, startling both of the children.

Turning towards him, Daniel smiled tightly, "We've all had our fair share of injuries, this one happened a couple moths ago, it's almost healed. Every so often, if it's hurting me, Xiwang wraps it for me. I'll be all good in a couple weeks... Hopefully.

Xiwang whispered quietly in his ear but Danny overhear it, "You may never fully get over an injury like that." She said.

Patting her arm comfortingly, Daniel whispered back, "I know."

Turning towards Danny, Xiwang shook her head, her uneven black hair bobbing back and forth. "We might as well fix you up a bit while we have the herbs out. Walking over to him, she sat cross legged next to him and Daniel sat on the other side.

"Ouch!" Danny complained as Xiwang rubbed some sort of paste over the gashes across his chest.

"Don't be such a baby." Daniel laughed, shaking his white-blond hair out of his eyes..

"Look who's talking." Xiwang teased, poking her brother in the ribs.

"Hey! I am not a baby!" Daniel frowned.

"Oh yeah? I seem to remember you crying quite last time you were injured."

Shaking a finger at her, he remembered that she couldn't see the gesture and rolled his eyes in exasperation. "One: I didn't cry."

"No, but you whined quite a bit."

Ignoring her, he went on. "And two; I have every right to be a baby while Momma's trying to fish a bullet out of my shoulder."

"What?!" Danny gasped and the children glanced at each other, they had quite forgotten he was listening. Frowning at them, Danny demanded an answer, perplexed and concerned. "What is this place? Why do you guys keep dancing around questions? Can't you please answer me honestly. What really goes on here?"

"We have never lied to you." Xiwang's voice was quiet.

"We just have never told you what you want to know." Daniel whispered as well. "And we really aren't supposed to talk about it-"

"Well…" Xiwang turned towards Daniel, "We could tell him our stories. As long as we only tell ours."

Frowning in concentration, Daniel nodded. "Alright, I suppose we could do that. Do you want to tell or do you want me too?"

"You. You are a better storyteller than me, I like listening to you talk."

Letting out a short laugh, Daniel nodded. "Alright. And thank you for the compliment, if you meant it that way."

"For once I actually did, now get on with the story already!"

"Okay, okay, I'm getting to it." Chuckling, he turned back towards Danny and started his story.

"Angel rescued both of us. We are sort of like refugees. Once a year, Momma makes a journey to either Russia or China. During the summer, she can cross the small strip of ocean between Alaska and Russia. Then she flies down to China or to some part of Russia. I was the first rescue she ever made.

Did you know that eighty percent of Russia's population lives in the orphanages? I was one of the eighty percent. I never even knew my mother, she tried to murder me before I was born. Do you have any idea how many abortions are born alive? I was one of those abortions, but I was lucky. Instead of killing me like most doctors do when a baby is born alive, they saved me. But my lower legs had been burnt off from the abortion chemical.

Once they were sure I would live, they sent me to the orphanage. A lot of children in Russia are missing limbs because of the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl. Arms or legs or fingers. A lot of us are missing something. But we are hidden from society, and few of us ever get adopted. No one cares about us, no one loves us. We are alone. When orphans are sixteen, we 'graduate' the orphanage. We have no idea how to get a job, how to survive, what to do. Most of us become addicted to drugs and alcohol, and few of us live to see thirty. I decided to leave the orphanage early, I couldn't stand it anymore. And I knew no one would ever adopt me. Who would want half a person?" Daniel's voice broke at this point as he choked on old hurts that had become deep scars inside his young heart.

Gulping back tears, he continued, "So when I was ten years old, I ran away. I don't know if anyone ever searched for me. They may have never noticed since their were so many kids in the orphanage, or they may have just not cared. Either way, I found myself alone on the streets. I got into trouble, I smoked and drank alcohol. I had no money, so I started stealing food just to survive. Then Momma found me. I was almost dead by that time, starving and alone. She saved me.

I chose a new name. Daniel after the person in the Bible. I wanted to be named after a great hero. Now many think of great heroes as Samson who was super strong. Or David who defeated a giant. But I learned that true power does not come from strength, but from faith. I am not strong, I am not extraordinarily brave, but I have faith. Faith to move a mountain.

Her second rescue was Xiwang. Xiwang was a child slave in China. Child trafficking is huge down in India/China/Bangladesh. Her parents didn't have any money, so they sold her as a slave and she was sold thought six different countries. Moving from hostel to hostel as she was bought and sold over and over again. At one point, a man clawed her eyes -blinding her- after that happened, her _owner_ was going to put he down like a dog, because she had no more use for him. And no one would want to buy her anymore.

That day, hours before she would have died, Angel broke into the hostel and rescued her. She chose a new name, Xiwang because it means HOPE."

When Daniel fell silent, Danny looked at the two kids in shock. "That really happened?"

Daniel gripped Xiwang's hand tightly. "Yes. Few people care to see what happens outside their comfy homes. People, CHILDREN, are dying every day. And no one cares to notice us. It's like we're ghosts. Xiwang and I, we are the voice for those who don't have one."

Looking deeply into Xiwang's destroyed eyes, Danny gulped, holding back tears as for the first time he was able to pictured what had happened to the young girl. And he silently wished he didn't know, but at the same time, he was glad he did.

* * *

**Okay guys, I'm sorry. I know all of this is disturbing. I am trying to raise awareness. I want you to know that all that stuff in there is true. When I went to Russia, I went there as a missionary. And I have seen things that are terrible. Terrible and true. It really happens. In the Russian orphanages, children will start drinking alcohol and smoking as young as six years old. When the kids "graduate" most of them end up dying young because they have no idea how to survive, they are never taught how and they will end up overdosing on drugs. I've seen these things! I have seen the hopelessness.**

**Child trafficking is a huge problem. Children: some as young as 5 or 6 years old are sold as sex-slaves all over southern Asia. God has given me a mission in life: and that is to rescue them. Next summer or fall (depends on if I have the money by then) I am going back to Russia for a year or 2 to work in an orphanage. And after that I am traveling down to India/ China/ Bangladesh to rescue child slaves. This is life or death. Children are dying every day! And no one is doing anything about it. I am going to change that. I want to change the world, save lives. And the first step is to raise awareness. That is why I created those two OCs, I use them all the time as symbols to raise awareness and tell people what really happens in these places. It breaks my heart.**


	13. Chapter 12

Spiderman glanced up as Fury came into the briefing room followed by Power Man's parents who were scientists aboard the helicarrier. "Any news Fury?" He whispered.

All of the heroes were red eyes from crying and worn out with fatigue and grief. "Was it Danny's blood on the mask?" Nova sniffled, "Did you get the analysis?"

Glancing down at her feet, Mrs. Cage forcefully held back tears as he nodded. "We have confirmed, it was Iron Fist's blood." She choked out.

"But hey, there's still hope." Mr. Cage tried to make the team perk up a bit. "I mean, they haven't found his body yet, so he could still be out there." He looked all of the young heroes in the eye, silently begging them to believe him.

"Yeah guys! We can't give up!" Spiderman jumped out of his seat, banging his hands against the table. "Iron Fist faced a dragon, and won! Surly scorpion couldn't have killed him, he has to be out there!"

"Spider," White Tiger gulped. "Don't do that. Don't try to give us false hope. it's like scratching a wound, it may make it feel better at the moment but the wound will last longer because of it. You saw the clearing, there was blood everywhere. He's dead."

"How can you saw that!" Luke screamed, tears rolling down his cheeks. "You can't just give up Tiger!"

"Oh yes I can!" She screamed back, "And don't you yell at me Nicolas Cage! I loved Danny too. But I don't want to convince myself that he's alive when in reality, we are never going to see him, EVER AGAIN!" She burst into sobs and fell back into her chair, balling into her hands, mascara running.

Around the room, the other three teens burst into a yelling contest. All accusing the others and trying to be heard over everyone else. Mr. Cage ran in between the heroes, trying to calm them down.

Closing her eyes, Mrs. Cage ignored the teenager. Breathing deeply, her thoughts echoed loudly in her mind. _No one could have survived a fall like that. Not even Iron Fist. We saw the clearing before the storms came on, there was blood everywhere. Far too much blood._ Biting her lip to keep from crying, she thought back to the first time she had met Danny.

_They were on their way back from the place she and her husband had been imprisoned for so many years. She kept touching Luke, as if to see if he were real. She hadn't known what had become of him for so long, she was proud of the man he had become. _

_As soon as they got off the jet, agents began coming up to congratulate Luke on his rescue and welcome her and her husband back to SHIELD, One boy was younger than the others. He was about seventeen with long blond hair and a sweet smile. He looked like he belonged on a beach in California, not a metal airship. As soon as Luke saw him, his face lit up._

_ "__Danny, come here!" He called and pulled his friend through the crowds so that he could meet his parents. "Danny, these are my parents."_

_The boy's eyes grew wide and he smiled happily at them, but his eyes were very sad. "I am so happy for you my friend!" He exclaimed, "To find your parents after so many years thinking that they were dead, it must be a dream come true." He shook both Mr and Mrs Cage's hands warmly. Mrs. Cage could see a deep pain in his eyes as he turned quickly back towards her son. "Excuse me Luke, I must go find Tiger." He said as he ran off through the helicarrier._

_ "__What was that about Luke?" Mrs. Cage asked worriedly._

_As sad frown crossed her son's face. "That was thoughtless of me." Luke sighed, "Danny is my best friend, he really helped me when I first came to SHIELD. Danny's parents died ten years ago. I should have known that meeting you would be hard for him. I know he's happy for us, but now he's probably thinking about his parents and what became of them."_

_ "__His parents are dead?" Mrs. Cages eyes filled with tear. Putting her hands on her hips defiantly, she exclaimed, "Well then, he must become part of our family!" When Mr. Cage nodded in agreement she continued, "Luke, whenever we are together I want Danny to be there to. He has been like a brother to you while we were missing, and now we want to be like parents to him. What do you think?"_

_Grinning, Luke exclaimed, "I think that's a wonderful idea!"_

Mrs. Cage came back to reality when her husband touched her arm. "Are you alright? You looked a million miles away for a second."

Looking around, she dully noted that he had gotten the young heroes to quiet down. Nodding slowly, she responded, "I'm fine. Just thinking, remembering." Mr. Cage nodded, not needing to know any more. Danny had been living with them for the past four-ish months. He was always quiet and kind to everyone. Mrs. Cage had truly seen him as a second son, and she couldn't bare the thought that he was gone.

"I won't give up." She whispered, too quietly for anyone to hear before marching out of the briefing room.

Staring at her, one eyebrow raised, White Tiger asked, "Luke, what got into your mom?"

"No idea.' He shrugged. "Once she gets an idea in her head, she won't stop until she's done what she set out to do. She could be up to anything right now."

Across the helicarrier, Mrs. Cage was doing something. She was writing a plan for Fury to approve. A plan to tear down the mountain in Alaska where Danny's mask had been found. To tear Mount Steapridge apart until they either found Danny, or found his body.

**DU DU DUUUUUUUHHHH! :) How'd you like? I thought it would be kinda fun to throw Luke's parents in there, it made sense to me. Right now, I'd just like to apologies for not really responding to anyone's reviews. I promise I'm reading them! And they have really helped me. If any of you have any ideas on how to make this story better, please let me know and I may put your ideas in here. I will respond to a couple now.**

**TheOnyxDragon12; thank you very much for all of your reviews. They have been very helpful and encouraging to me. And I really appreciate them :)**

**spize666: Child slaves in asia are mostly very young, when they are rescued most can not be put up for adoption because they have been so traumatized that they are terrified of people. For many, if a man even tries to touch them, even in a nice way, they will flip out. Because they are so afraid. I don't know if there is a way to donate? I guess you could look it up, but be careful if you do. A lot of sites could be frauds. It's really terrible that people do that, but they do. And those who work in countries where child slavery is legal can't get donations cause those are connected to bank numbers, and if you are breaking the law by rescuing these kids, you can't have ANY way for them to find out who you are. So most of us have church sponsors or make things and sell them. One of my friends makes beautiful wooden crosses to pay for her trips, and I am really hoping my books may be able to at least partially support me. I haven't been able to go to south asia yet where slavery is big, I'm hopefully getting there in about 3 years. I have to go back to Russia first. And right now I'm in America so I can finish school. And just so everyone knows: yes, I am American.**

**Thank you everyone for all the congratulations for my book. It's completely finished and in the process of publishing. All that's left now is finishing the cover of the book and completing that mess. The digital art part of book-writing is the worst! I swear! Ug. Sorry, that was a total tangent! Anyhow, I will post the title in about -two weeks maybe?- When it's officially out there. So thank you all very much, it's late, I'm tired. So thanks again and GOODNIGHT! :)**


	14. Chapter 13

**Just a Note; sorry my chapters are always so short! I don't know why, but for fanfictions I have the hardest time writing long chapters! Hahahaha, :) well, enjoy! And I will update again soon (I hope) ;)**

She was no longer on the mountain. She wasn't even flying over the mountain. She WAS the mountain. From the frozen earth to the swirling storm and spiraling blizzard. She was aware of how the waterfall poured over the rocky cliffs fiercely, unwilling to become frozen in place, wishing to flow freely- gurgling up from an underground spring. Breathing in- although she wasn't technically breathing- she blew the storm bigger, making it grow. Black clouds covered the sky, blocking anyone or anything to get in or out. Steepridge was a part of her. She knew where a snow fox was buried in its den and where a grizzly bear slept in its cave. From where Wolf guarded the secret cave to where the alaskians huddled in their homes inside the city and she could hear the quiet whispers carried on the wind.

"Angel."

"We must all be in danger if she is using our last line of defense."

"How long will this storm last?"

"Until the danger's past."

"Or until there is nothing left she can do."

"Or until a worse danger comes upon us."

Angel heard all these whispers, all the voices carried upon the wind. Worried cries, whispering over their predicament. One whisper caught her attention. It was very quiet as if coming from far away.

"Tear down Steepridge. Pull it apart. We have to find him, he's still there, I know it."

Angel listened to the voice, aware of it, but not sure how to return to her body. Not sure if she even cared. Being the mountain dulled her perspective and comprehension of such things. It made her aware of everything at once- so the one voice was almost lost in the flood of things she was aware of. But then, she heard the voices in the cave. Nervous, scared, alone.

Blinking her nonexistent eyes, she concentrated on the voices inside the cave. _I can't leave them._ She thought to herself. _I have to protect them- have to wake up. Have to get out! I must become me again, and pull away from the mountain. But how?_ As she concentrated her thoughts together, slowly, the mountain and the voices faded and she realized that she was blinking her actual eyes.

Looking over at her, fire reflecting in his light blue eyes, Daniel exclaimed, "Momma!" Both Xiwang and Danny turned towards her, surprise written all over their faces. Shaking her head as if to clear it, Angel stood up. Cutting the connection with the mountain had left her weak and dizzy, and as she stared at the faces in front of her they grew more and more blurry. She wasn't sure what happened, but her vision went black and she felt herself hit the floor.

Jumping up, Daniel hobbled over to Angel and checked to make sure she hadn't hit her head. Sighing in annoyance, he chook his head. His white-blond hair bobbed around his ears as he turned towards Xiwang and demanded, "Get the smelling salts sis, she passed out."

Nodding, Xiwang did as she was told, letting her blind hands skim the shelves, looking for the tall thin bottle. Danny tried to sit up but gave up with a yelp when the gashes in his sides twinged.

"Stay down." Daniel commanded with a scowl. "We have enough trouble right now without you opening those cuts back up.

Wincing, Danny nodded. "What's wrong with her?" He asked curiously.

"I don't know," Daniel's face was plastered with a worried expression as he gently brushed Angel's golden hair behind her ear. "She's never had to use her connection with the mountain before. We don't know the side effects." Taking the smelling salts from Xiwang, Daniel waved them under Angel's nose.

A couple minutes later, Angel cracked her eyes open. As she made as if to sit up, Daniel held her down. "Yeah, no. Stay down Momma. We don't want any more fainting spells. Tell us what happened."

Raising one eyebrow at him, she shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. A scowl creased her gentle face as she growled, "First thing's first. I haven't eaten in over three days. I want bacon."

Snorting a laugh, Xiwang shook her head, "Only you Momma, only you." She was still giggled as she went to fetch a bunch of frozen deer bacon from outside.


	15. Chapter 14

"Okay, hold on to me." Angel carefully wrapped her arm around Danny and helped him stand. "Come on, you can do it." She grinned."

Turning deathly pale, he gasped, "Some things are easier said than done." Wrapping his arms around Angel's shoulders, he braced himself against her, panting heavily.

"I know." Angel looked up at him mischiviously. "I believe you can do it though. That fall really tore you apart, you are healing abnormally fast."

"Thanks." He smiled tensely. "Much is possible when you achieve peace with one's self."

"Huh?" Xiwang raised one eyebrow at them from across the room as she tried to digest the obscure comment. "Did you get that?" SHe asked her bother.

"Ignore them." Daniel waved his hand distractedly, staring at the cards he was holding. "Have any fours?"

The numbers had been raised on one side of the cards so that Xiwang could play. Tracing her hand over the numbers, she shook her head. "Go fish."

Without seeming to have heard her children, Angel laughed at Danny and nodded. "But the greatest peace comes not from one's self but from the Lord who holds us."

Wrinkling his nose, Danny shook his head. "It's hard to trust something you can't see."

His sad green eyes met her joyful ones and she sighed. "Many can see him, if they care to look. You have closed yourself off because of fear."

Daniel's voice interrupted their conversation. "Dang it! I had three twos! How are you so good at this game?" Frowning, he waved his hand in front of Xiwang's face and she batted it away.

"I can feel you doing that." She snapped. "Now gimme all your twos!" She laughed triumphantly as he disgruntedly handed them over.

Using the interruption to change the subject, Danny asked. "So, how did you get out of that coma? What happened while you were out?"

"It's hard to explain." Angel frowned and rubbed her hand through her long hair as she tried to figure out how to explain. "One moment I was on the mountain, the next, I **was** the mountain. I was a part of it and could hear everything spoken to the wind. One such comment is what woke me up."

"What was it?"

Turning her frightened eyes upon him, Angel bit her lip. "It was one of your friends at SHIELD. A Mrs. Cage. She is planning on tearing Steapridge apart piece by piece until she finds you."

"What?!" Danny gasped. "But… Why?"

Shrugging, Angel glanced at the floor, acutely aware that his arms were still around her. "She loves the way she loves her own son. She is angry, I suppose for good reason. But she is taking her frustration out on this place. They have been unable to find the scorpion, that has made everyone nervous."

Clasping her hand in his own, Danny said veminatly, "I will save your home Angel! You can count on me."

"I believe you." She grinned. "Now the next step is making you strong enough to go back."

"Angel," Danny asked hesitantly, "WhenI return to New York, will you go back to SHIELD with me? Please? You can help me find Scorpion, and join the team. It would be perfect."

The two children glanced up and yelled at the same time, "No!"

"Momma can't leave." Daniel growled.

"You two could come as well." Danny protested.

"You don't understand," Angel helped Danny sit and sat cross legged next to him. "I'm part of the mountain, I can't leave. I have an obligation and things I must do. I can't go."

"When you say can't, does it have something to do with your connection with Fury?" Danny asked kindly.

Biting her lip, Angel turned away. "You will never understand." Feeling his gentle hand on her shoulder, she let him pull her around so that they were sitting knee to knee, staring into each others eyes.

Wiping a tear out of her eye, Danny whispered, "What won't I understand?"

Feeling like she was trapped in his dark eyes, she struggled not to cry. "I… I can't tell you! Please Danny, you asking that only hurts me. Please don't ask. I only wish to forget. I only want to be left alone in my mountain top sanctuary. Where no unwanted thing or hidden memories can reach me."

Without a word, Danny brushed her hair behind her ear and leaned close to her, gently brushing a kiss to her cheek.

Gasping Angel pulled back, one hand pressed to her cheek. Daniel was staring at them, slack jawed. And Xiwang had no idea what had just happened.

"Why… Why would you do that?" Angel's eyes were wide with shock.

Holding her hand, he carefully traced the callouses and blemishes in her palm and arms. Without answering her question, he whispered. "Angel, did you know that I am from a mystical city? It is called 'Kun 'Lung. It is there that I got the power of the Iron Fist. But my training was not only in martial arts. We were taught how to read people, how to track anything through by simple perception. What different reactions or marks may mean."

Fear flashed in her eyes and she tried to pull her arm back, but Danny kept a tight hold on her so that she could not get away. Seeing this, Daniel jumped up, balancing on what was left of his legs as he fumbled for a dagger which was tied to his waist.

"Let her go." The child growled.

"Daniel, it's okay." Angel whispered, forcing herself not to panic in front of her children. Turning back to Danny, she gulped, ignoring the looks her children were giving each other. "In that case, you already know, don't you?" She whispered.

"No, I don't know what your connections may be." Danny frowned, his blond hair falling in his face as he ran a finger along the thick callouses and scars along her wrist. "But I have a good guess as to what happened to you. You were in sha-"

"Stop." She commanded. Breathing heavily, she turned to her children. "Daniel, Xiwang, to the caves. Now."

Eyeing Danny warily, Daniel protested. "But Momma-"

"No buts!" She interrupted. "Go."

"Will you be okay?" Xiwang gulped.

Voice softening, Angel nodded. "I'll be fine baby, go. Come back in the morning, but not until then."

"But why Momma?" Xiwang gulped.

"What's going on?" Daniel added.

"Nothing, I just need to talk to Danny in private. Please go."

Nodding, albeit with worried expressions, the children pulled on their warm clothes and left.

As soon as the door shut, Danny looked at Angel with shining sad eyes, still holding on to her wrist. "They don't know. Do they?"

**YIKES! Hehehehehehe :) so, sorry it took a while to update! Next chapter we may (or may not) discover at least part of what happened to Angel in the past? :) Why is she so mysterious? And honestly- she can be kinda creepy ;) **

**Just a note, I LOVE Xiwang. She never has any idea whats going on! ^_^ hehehehe**

**It is super late, thanks for reading and I will update soon (hopefully) Paka, paka!**


	16. Chapter 15

"They don't know, do they?"

Danny's question rang in Angel's ears and she closed her eyes, holding back tears. "No." She whispered. "No, they don't."

"I'm sorry." His eyes flashed with regret and he released his hold on her wrist.

"Don't be, I wish for you to continue. Tell me what you know. I just… I didn't want Daniel and Xiwang knowing." Shaking her head sadly, she whispered, "Hold on for a second, it's late, so let me get changed and I'll put tea on." Walking to the fire, Angel knelt down, putting a pot of water over the coals, dreading the conversation she knew she must have.

While waiting for the water to boil, she ducked behind the curtain and struggled out of her dress before slipping on a silky nightgown. Letting her hair fall from its braid, she walked back out and Danny's eyes widened. For the first time, she looked like a legitimate angel. Straight out from the old paintings.

Handing him a cup of tea, she leaned back against the hearth next from him, playing with the ends of her hair. "This is a difficult conversation for me." She murmured. "I have never told anyone these things. And it is just my luck to find a guy who was trained in perceiving. So go ahead, tell me what you know."

"Are you sure?" Danny asked kindly.

"Yeah." She wiped a tear from her cheek with the heel of her hand, "It was bound to happen sooner or later."

Gulping, Danny whispered, "Your wrists, they are surrounded by callouses and scars. Types that can only be acquired by one thing. You wore shackles- by the look of it; you wore them for many years."

"It was only about nine months." She pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging them to her body. "But I was a fighter. Was willing to do anything to get away."

"You tore your wrists?" Danny asked in surprise.

"What?" She shrugged. "Pain doesn't bother me. If a fox is caught in a trap, they will chew their own foot off to get free. I am much the same. You could see the blue veins of my wrist and if you really looked, you could see the bone. I had fought so long at those shackles- I was willing to cut my own hand off if it meant getting free. I was so close when my captors found me. They knew what I had been trying to do and put me in a cage instead. Like a bird to be studied. I learned not to trust. That to be wary was to be wise."

"Was Fury in on this?"

"No- not exactly. He didn't become a player in this crazy chess game until later. I knew of him before then but he wasn't involved in that part of my story... At least, not directly."

Green eyes flashing, Danny traced the scars which wound their way up her arms. "There isn't a chance that you would tell me your story, is there?"

"No. Can we just leave it at that? Is there anything else you can read from me?" Angel made a face, secretly hoping that he didn't know any more.

Shaking his head slightly, he looked at her with sad eyes. "Other than the fact you limp when you walk, no. Whatever else happened to you, you are hiding the marks."

Slumping with relief, she looked like she was going to try and pull away. Sighing, Danny grabbed her wrists and yanked her close. Falling on top of him, she gasped in surprise, unsure of how to react. Wrapping his arms around her, Danny hugged her tight.

Deciding to just go with it, Angel snuggled close to him, letting him hold her.

_Ouch._ Danny thought to himself. _Note to self, remember that you have broken ribs._ Looking down at Angel, whose breathing was slowly steading out, he frowned. _What are you afraid of little bird?_ His arm was over her wings and he felt them fluff out slightly the way birds wings do when they sleep.

They lay like that for an hour before Danny was one hundred percent sure she was asleep. Carefully, so as not to wake her, Danny lowered her so that she was lying face-down across his lap. Her nightgown had a low back to make room for her wings and Danny gulped, uncomfortable with what he was about to do.

Hooking a finger in the back of her nightgown, he pulled it down just a couple inches so that he could see her back. Long scars criss crossed her back, leaving trailing, inch thick scars. Showing that at one point she had been whipped- something only done to trouble makers in top security prisons, the worst of the worst.

Right in the middle of her back, a mark was burned into her skin, marking her for all eternity. A square inside a triangle inside a circle, it was the mark which is burned into the backs of international criminals… Those who are sentenced to death.

Letting go of her, he leaned back against the wall and shook his head, suddenly quite nervous. "Angel," He whispered, "What have you done?"

**Oh Dear... Is Angel not all that she appears? ;)**


	17. Chapter 16

**Hey guy! sorry the last chapter was a little... gory. lol :) Sooooooo, whats the mystery behind Angel? What's she hiding? Duh duh duh! ;) **

**Just a note: foxes actually will chew there foot off if its stuck in a trap. It's a survival instinct- they might feel the pain, but at that moment, they don't care. they know it's life or death at that point. And in case ur wondering, yes, I do love random facts that no one else cares about. It's my thang ;) so if u have any interesting facts u don't mind me using, let me know! :)**

* * *

Yawning, Angel blinked her eyes slowly, trying to clear her vision which was blurry from sleep. When she could see clearly, she forced herself not to jump back. Her surprise slowly faded into a quiet smile and she slipped out from under the blanket.

Grinning down at the blond boy, Angel laughed quietly. She had slept pressed into his side the way small children often do. Ducking behind the curtain, Angel quickly got dressed in her soft buckskin dress. Tying her hair into a braid, she waked out into the rest of the tree house, the end of her braid just brushing the ground.

Danny was sitting up and staring at her with an unreadable expression.

"What?" She raised one eyebrow at him.

"Nothing." He shrugged. "Just thinking."

"About what?" Angel sat next to him.

Hesitating, he answered carefully. "I am healing very quickly, soon I shall be able to leave here."

Angel frowned, knowing that he was holding something back. "That is true."

"Will you reconsider?" Danny asked with wide, begging eyes. "Will you come back with me?" His voice was quiet as he took her hand in his.

Sighing, she shook her head. "Please Danny, don't ask that of me. My answer will not change. This is where I belong; I will not go anywhere else."

They pulled apart as the door slammed open and Daniel and Xiwang shuffled in, covered in snow.

"What's going on here?" Daniel crossed his arms and Xiwang raised one eyebrow, recognizing her brother's tone.

"Nothing, did you two sleep well?"

"Well enough." Xiwang nodded. "But the question is, did _you two_ sleep?"

Turning bright red at what the young girl was implying, Angel gasped, "Xiwang! Why would you ask something like that?"

"Okay, okay, I get it." She giggled. "You didn't do anything.

Finally understanding the comment, Danny blushed bright red and turned away. Angel chuckled. "You have to get used to her." She motioned towards Xiwang. "She has no filter."

Groaning, Danny pulled himself up to a standing position, leaning against the wall for support. Angel watched quietly. "You know," She started, "You may be able to go home soon."

"I hope so." Danny nodded. "I need to leave before Mrs. Cage gets here so that I can stop her from tearing up this mountain.

"Sit down, let me take a look at those gashes."

Doing as he was told, Danny pulled off his shirt and sat on the ground, Angel sat next to him. Fingers moving deftly, she unwrapped the bandages around his chest.

Watching how carefully she worked, how gentle she was, Danny shook his head in confusion. _How could she be an international criminal? And not only a normal one- but one who has done such horrible things that she has been sentenced to death and branded. I can't believe it! And what the kids told me- such a terrible person would not go around rescuing children. The past is the past. Whatever may or may not have happened, what she is now is what matters._

"Hey, earth to Danny!" Angel waved her hand in front of his face and he jumped.

"Oh sorry, I was just thinking."

Laughing, she nodded. "You seem to be doing a lot of that lately." Tracing her hand over his chest, which was still marked deeply by his fall she said, "You are still healing. From the amount of blood you lost, you should have died and it will take you a good long time before you are back to the amount you should have. I recommend you take it easy for a while. No fighting, no chasing bad guys, no training, no unnecessary roughhousing. Got it?"

Nodding, Danny grinned. "Yes ma'am."

"Normally, I'd want you to stay here a couple more days so I could keep an eye on you. But we are pressed for time. Just do as I told you, and be careful."

Turning serious, Danny gripped her hand. "I will."

Sitting cross-legged, Angel's eyes glowed and she seemed to fade for a couple moments. Less than two minutes later, she snapped back into consciousness. "They are on their way." Standing up, she brushed a speck of dust off of her dress and held out her hand to Danny, pulling him up beside her. "They will get here in less than twenty minutes. I wish you could have stayed here longer, you aren't completely out of the danger zone yet. But we must do what must be done."

A sad smile crossed Danny's face and he pulled her against his chest, resting his cheek on the top of her head as he hugged her. "Thank you Angel, for everything. I will never forget you."

"Hey, we'll see each other again… maybe. Your team is always in the newspapers, I will hear tell of you from even up here. And if you are ever in trouble again- you know where to come for help."

Turning to the two kids, Danny knelt down and hugged them. "Thanks guys, I'll miss you. Remember to always work together. Because from what I've noticed, when the two of you are together, anything is possible!"

Wiping a tear out of her destroyed eyes, Xiwang nodded. "I'll miss you Danny."

Daniel nodded in agreement with his sister. "Same here."

Grinning, Danny stood up and looked Angel in her brilliant blue eyes. "We ready to go?"

Handing him a thick coat of white buckskin, Angel smiled. "I made that for you, yeah, let's get going. We need to get to the city before SHIELD does."

Pulling the coat on, Danny and Angel walked out the door and stood on the porch. Wrapping her arms around him, Angel asked, "You ready?"

"Yes." He word was barely out of his mouth when he felt the ground disappear beneath him. Yelping, he gripped Angel's shoulders with an iron grip- as ironic as that may seem.

Laughing, she held him tighter. "Don't worry." She yelled over the wind, looking down at his up-turned face. "Just don't look down. I promise I won't drop you."

"Easier said than done." He muttered, closing his eyes tightly.

A few minutes later, they landed behind a copse of trees just outside the city. The houses loomed over them as Angel peeked through the green branches of the pine trees. Turning back to Danny, she frowned with worry. His face was pale and he looked ready to collapse. "Curses." Angel whispered to herself, "I knew you weren't ready to leave my safe home."

Raising her voice only slightly, she gripped his thin hands in her own. "Danny, be careful, okay? I don't want to find you on my mountain the way I found you last time. There is more at work here then you may think. Take care of your friends, they care for you very much." Hugging him tightly, she pressed her cheek into his chest, tears freezing to her cheeks.

"I will Angel." Danny whispered. "Thank you, for everything. I… I… I really care about you. Take are, okay? Those kids you have are very special, keep them out of trouble."

Laughing she nodded. "I will- try at least." A loud rumbling noise caught there attention. "That's them." Angel gestured to the jet which had landed semi close to them in a small clearing. "Go, and take care of yourself."

Nodding, Danny limped out of the thicket towards the jet. As she watched him leave, a sneering voice growled at her. "Well, well, what do we have here?"

Spinning around, she took in the green suit, long tail and loaded armor in a split second. She barely had time to gasp his name before he punched her in the temple and she fell to the ground, unconscious.

The word she had uttered echoed quietly through the trees as he slung her over his shoulder and took off through the woods.

"Scorpion."


	18. Chapter 17

Daniel clung to his sister's back as they crossed the deep snow drifts which were so familiar to them. He whispered warning and directions in her ear as he held onto her like a baby koala bear.

Soon enough, he spotted the dark cave opening and they slipped inside. The sight which greeted them warmed his heart. Thirty kids sat around the cave playing with dolls or mending holes in their clothes or building up the fire. Wolf lay in the center of the cave, his fluffy tail wrapped around two twin toddlers. On the outside, the cave looked like it would be cold and damp. But on the inside, it was actually quite warm and homey. Piles of furs lay about which some of the kids were curled up in, reading books.

"Daniel, Xiwang!" One of the toddlers pushed Wolf's tail aside and hobbled over to them. Xiwang set Daniel down and he hugged the little girl.

"Hiya Rose." He tweaked her nose, "How's it going? Have you been a good girl?"

"Yes!" She grinned broadly.

Wolf turned his head to look at her and growled low in his throat- a warning.

Hanging her head, Rose sighed and shook her head. "Nooooo." She drew out the word for a full three seconds and refused to look Daniel in the eye.

"What'd you do?" Daniel raised one eyebrow."

"She threw a tantrum." Wolf answered before the little girl had a chance. Motioning with his nose to the far wall, Wolf flexed the claws of one paw. "And did that."

Squinting to see through the semi-dark cave, Daniel's jaw fell open in surprise. "Rose!" He exclaimed. "What did we tell you about violence?"

Tracing her foot over the ground she sighed, "Violence is never the answer."

Gaping wide-eyed at the four foot wide hole in the wall, Daniel picked up the toddler's hand, inspecting her knuckles. Although there was a tiny bruise, punching the wall hadn't even broken her skin. Looking her straight in the eye, Daniel shook his head at her. "Rose, you are stronger than anyone else- you could really hurt someone. You must control your temper. How would you have felt if someone had been hit by those rocks when you punched that wall?"

Sucking on her thumb, she cast her eyes upon the floor. "I'm sowy brother." She mumbled.

"That's better." Daniel rubbed her head affectionately. "Don't do it again."

Lily, Rose's twin sister, toddled up and grabbed her twin's hand. Looking up at Xiwang with brilliant florescent green eyes, she asked, "Sissy, where is Momma? Is she coming to visit us soon? When can we go home?"

Kneeling next to the two year olds, Xiwang wrapped them both in a warm hug- a very unusual gesture from her. "Momma took the boy back to the city. It is safe for you and the others to return. In probably about an hour, Momma will come and bring us all back home together."

"She took him back?" Wolf frowned. "Already?"

Shrugging, Xiwang turned towards Wolf's voice. "Yeah, he has friends in high places- they were planning on tearing the mountain apart looking for him. Momma had to take him back much sooner than she would have liked."

"Well then, it's only a matter of time." Standing up, shaking out his brilliant white coat, Wolf bellowed. "Alright kids, pack up! We will be headed back home within the hour."

Cheers ran through the cave as kids swarmed left and right to pack there few belongings. Once everyone was ready, they sat together in a circle and waited. And waited. And waited.

Two hours later, Wolf was thumping his tail in agitation. "Shouldn't she be back by now?" He growled at Xiwang.

Wringing her hands, the blind girl nodded. "Something must be seriously wrong."

**Sorry guys! I know this chapter is kinda short. I will try to upload a longer one next time! :)**


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